American History I - Part A

In its 1824 Gibbons v. Ogden decision, the Supreme Court based its ruling on an interpretation of the Commerce Clause in Article I, Section 8 of the Constitution. It determined that under that clause Congress had powers to regulate any kind of commerce that crossed state lines. How did the Supreme Court decision affect life in the United States?

• It gave the federal government a larger role in the national economy
• It forced businesses to work only within the borders of their home state
• It made government officials the main authorities for managing businesses
• It took away any powers states had to made decisions about economic matters

In June 1788, William Grayson wrote "Infuse new strength and spirit into the state governments; for, when the component parts are strong, it will give energy to the government, although it be otherwise weak." WHICH statement about government would Grayson MOST likely support? 

• Large states should have more say than small states
• New states should be added to strengthen the country
• The Articles of Confederation left the states too weak 
• The Constitution took too much power away from the states

Use the table below to answer the question. Which phrase best explains the cause of the results in this table? 

• the issue of slavery
• the concerns of colonial loyalists
• the conflict between large and small states
• the need of the federal government to levy taxes

Use the excerpt to answer the question that follows. What was the purpose for John Winthrop's statement? 

• to argue for the abolition of the slave trade
• to promote settlement of the Jamestown colony
• to inspire the Puritan founders of Massachusetts
• to encourage missionaries west of the Appalachians

In 1767 Britain imposed import taxes on products such as glass and tea. Colonists agreed to stop importing taxed goods from Britain. Many colonists stopped drinking tea. They started making their own clothes or bought clothes made in the colonies. In the last months of 1769 nearly every colonial legislature passed a law that banned merchants from importing taxed goods. What long-term effect did the laws restricting imports have in the colonies?

• They caused tension among northern colonies competing with each other
• They led colonists to tire of American goods, causing many to accept high taxes
• They contributed to a sense of American identity by encouraging colonies to cooperate
• They led American colonists to develop industries at home, achieving economic self-sufficiency

Use the excerpt below to answer the question. Why did southern states like South Carolina oppose the use of tariffs during the early 1800s?

• The tariffs protected northern manufactures at the expense of southern plantation owners
• The tariffs made it more difficult to purchase slaves at the markets
• The tariffs caused the price of cotton to increase and the price of manufactured goods to decrease
• The tariffs regulated trade between individual states

Use the cartoon to answer the question. Which option best reflects the message of the cartoon?

• The colonies must work together in order to be strong
• The colonies should remain loyal to England
• Colonists needed to acquire new territory
• Colonists should ally with the French to defeat the British 

Use the information below to answer the question that follows. 
Missouri Compromise of 1820
Compromise Tariff of 1833 
Compromise of 1850 
Which statement best describes the role played by an historical figure in the debates that led to these agreements? 

• John Quincy Adams sought to open more territories to slavery
• John C. Calhoun argued that the states must obey all federal laws
• Henry Clay offered solutions to satisfy different sides of the issues
• Daniel Webster threatened secession if his state's needs were not met 

Use the information below to answer the question that follows. The above list includes reasons that Alexander Hamilton gave in support of what proposal?

• a national bank 
• a free trade zone
• a publicly owned stock market
• a committee on economic planning 

Use the information below to answer the question. Why was the above sequence of events significant in the history of the Cherokee people?

• They brought about the establishment of federal reservations in the eastern United States
• They restored Cherokee land rights that had been granted during the colonial period
• They brought about the granting of citizenship rights to the Cherokee people 
• They led to the Cherokee people being forced to move west of the Mississippi River